HELP!! Hired at Mesaba AND Pinnacle. Which do I choose???
 

Hi everybody,

I'm looking for some insight and advice here. I interviewed at Mesaba and Pinnacle recently. It just worked out that the interviews were close together. I wasn't expecting to get offers at both carriers, but I did. So, I have class dates at both Mesaba and Pinnacle on October 8th. I thought I'd solicit some other opinions. Which one do I take, and why? I've heard good and bad things about both of them. Thanks!

EDIT: From what I hear about Mesaba, I might get the CRJ to begin with, but would be forced into the Saab if I wanted to upgrade sooner. As Mesaba expands with more CRJs, do you think the upgrades will start to occur closer together between the two planes?

Congrats...come to MESABA! We are growing, and safer!

Pinnacle just dropped their incentives for new hires, big time!

It used to be $400/wk during training, $750 upon completion of IOE, and $500 after 6 month completion at Pinnacle. Now, it's just $200/wk during training, and no OE or 6 mos bonuses! All you get is $200/wk + a double occupancy hotel. Pinnacle is 10 days off/month for reserves, Mesaba is 11.

I think your answer will all depend on what you want (eg, base, equipment, QOL, etc).

Really? I was just there yesterday and they quoted exactly what you said were the old numbers to the interviewees.

You know, they can figure out who you are by all the information you are posting.

Don't think that this board isn't searched by management types. Be careful.

Change the dates, or don't put any in there at all.

Oh, go the the place where you can upgrade the quickest.

What's to hide? I had good impressions about both of them in the interviews. I just didn't expect to get offers from both of them within 48 hours of each other.

Oh really, that's weird. Pretty sure my check I get tomorrow is $400 and that I'm living in a single room. Please cite some sources before you post erroneous information.

http://www.flypinnacle.com/site/our_...incentives.pdf

Pay is still $400/week during training, you get it every Friday. There is still a $750 bonus at the end of IOE and still a $500 longevity bonus at the end of 6 months. The benefits here are great, yeah the contract needs some work but it should be coming soon. Pinnacle is growing, hopefully some more DCI flying will come our way in the future. The training department is awesome and the people are great. You can get any base you want right now with the exception of ATL, it went pretty senior in the initial opening. It's a good place to be right now, if you have CRJ time already and meet the upgrade minimums you can upgrade pretty much right after OE. The most junior captain is about 50 people in front of me and I started a month ago. Come to Pinnacle, I could use some more people that are junior to me ;).

Folks, my understanding is this was effective today. So all ya'll currently in class and OE shouldn't be affected.

The class that started on Aug 27 was told they'd get $200/week for the first two weeks, then it would pick up back to $400/week thereafter. That I can confirm cause I have two really good friends both in that class.

But as of today, apparently, they've done away with that. So anyone starting class from *now* onwards, expect the new 'lower' incentives. Just don't say you weren't told.

Here's a thread on the very topic on flightinfo.com

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?p=1408063

I have a couple of friends going through training right now and the word I heard most was "disorganized". Don't know about the change in $, but my recommendation is to look long-term. You should get through either course without a problem. The issue becomes where you want to be two years from now and, with some luck, how much will you enjoy yourself and your job while you get there.

I've heard a lot of conjecture about both airlines, but I tend to lean towards Mesaba.